The Beauty and the Beastly
by Wlshman
Summary: An unexpected complication in Forever Fall forest results in an alliance most odd. A short crack fic based off of the vague notion that despite Nora's love of sloths, she's never seen one before. Something, something Intellectual Property yada, yada, Games Workshop and Roosterteeth, y'all know the spiel by now. Read and enjoy
1. Outta the frying pan

Pain. That was its one and only constant in life. The creature struggled to remember what had renewed its newfound pain, it's one good eye blinking. It remembered the green and blue hues of the tunnel it had led its lesser brethren into.

It also remembered the giant four-armed creature that it had run into, along with its swarm of lesser…lesser…daemons!

Yes, yes that was it.

The creature stirred, memories beginning to come back in full. It had followed the swansong of the Fleet down the tunnels before something had gotten in its way. The foul-smelling four-armed thing had wrestled with it before overwhelming it and throwing it here, wherever that was. It had to be close still though, the beast could still smell its spoor from here.

It cast its gaze around, sighting a scant few of its lesser brethren remaining in a sloped, heavy-wooded area. They too seemed to acknowledge that the Fleets swansong was still coming from above. It was growing faint though, the beast sensed, it had to hurry.

SMASH!

The beast turned, talons raising and claws unfolding, to a sight most peculiar. There was a bipedal snack-sized creature running from what appeared to be another of those tunnel daemons. This one in particular was a large quadruped nearly the size of the beast itself, its eyes glowing an unnatural blue behind a white mask. Roaring out a challenge, the beast bullrushed it, the snack rolling away, slamming the daemon into a nearby boulder, and with the interlopers forelegs contained in its claws, it slashed its talons straight through the creatures face.

The beast turned away from the large, dissolving daemon, it knew better than to attempt to eat the flesh, and turned towards the snack, which was standing stock still off to the side, eyes strangely glittering like the stars and mouth agape.

The snack held out a hand to touch it, and when it did things got awkward.

"Eeeeee! I found a sloth!"


	2. Into the

This could not get much worse, reflected Li Ren, as he sprinted down the hill. It was supposed to have been a routine cleanse and clear for team JNPR, making sure the this particular area of Forever Fall forest was relatively clear of Grimm before the Vytal festival began.

Then things had gone pear-shaped. The Grimm, the team was expecting. The…other beings, not so much. A Beowulf was one thing, but multi-hued flying eels that breathed equally multi-hued flames from multiple mouths? That was unnerving, even to him. What was even more unnerving was when a massive horned figure with four arms sent its Semblance in a rolling wave to the Grimm present. All of them had turned around after that, eyes now a misty blue.

The team had scattered after that. Jaune and Pyrhaa had bolted for the bullhead to request reinforcements and when Ren and Nora turned to follow, a pair of Ursa Major had seemingly appeared from nowhere and nailed Nora, sending her flying away. The other was a smouldering mass up the hill, Stormflowers blades having torn its face apart.

Normally Ren had no need to be concerned but the swipe had disarmed Nora of her hammer, Magnhild, and without a weapon she was defenceless against an alpha-level Grimm.

"Eeeeee!"

No, no, no, Ren thought, starting to panic. He burst into a clearing, guns akimbo and was greeted to the strangest sight he had yet to see today.

Nora(alive and intact, thank Oum), was squealing "Sloth, Sloth!", and hugging a large uh… insect? There were a dozen smaller creature, appearing similar to the large one also clustered around her.

The creature in turn, seemed to be awkwardly attempting to imitate the gesture, albeit with a large measure of caution.

"I…Nora" Ren started "Explain"

And that she did.

It was about as helpful as Ren figured it would be…


	3. Fire

That the beast was confused was an understatement. When the snack had made contact with it suddenly the creatures mind bloomed with intelligence. Suddenly it could here the Fleet loud and clear. The snack…was a synapse leader? It twitched involuntary, sensing the leaders psychic field.

"Aww, it's ok big guy, don't be shy. Just gimme a hug ok" the leader spoke to it leaning forward.

The beast attempted to cradle it in its claws. Such a fragile form this leader had, the Fleet it was from must've run its biomass reserves to absolute empty if it was this desperate.

The creatures lesser brethren crowded around the front of it, each getting a pat on the head in turn.

"Oh, look at all the baby sloths, so adorable"

The Termagants hissed in approval, it was good that the leader-creature needed them. One of them sensed a slight disturbance behind it and shifted around, spike rifle at ready. The termagant saw another unknown vaguely hidden near the treeline, it calling out in the same tongue as the leader-creature.

"Explain"

"TherewasanUrsathenthisbigslothappearedandthenBAMthenyouarrivedRen"

The Ren-creature sighed, pulling its hand to its forehead. Suddenly it faded completely from the Termagants senses and appeared far closer than before.

"Slowly please Nora"

"Ok" the leader-creature replied "'scuse me guys, need room"

As the leader-creature pulled away the large beast of the group communed with its lesser brethren. It was concerned about the fragility of this Nora-Queen. The Fleet here must've had to diverge massively from the gene pool and tactics the Hive Mind had laid out. That a lictor strain like this Ren variant was her sole guardian was immensly bad, though it seemed that the Nora-Queen trusted it immensely. It had even brought biomass with it, which the Queen was rapidly consuming, along with a large maul, which she took with some glee.

The Ren creature also mentioned a pair of warriors, a Juane-creature and a Pyrhaa-creature. The beast began to fell slightly more reassured when all present heard the crashing of trees coming their way. Another of the large black daemons appeared, followed by a horde of smaller ones that resembled 4-limbed hormagants.

The Termagants opened up with spike rifle and stranglewebs while the large beast stamped forward. The beast was suitably impressed with the Ren-creature. It had a pair of Spinefists that seemed to double as scything talons, and was tearing the smaller creatures to ribbons. The Nora-Queen meanwhile, seemed to have created herself an oddly coloured spore mine launcher from the earlier biomass, and was lobbing bright pink explosive mines everywhere. The large beast smashed the larger daemon into a pulp as it ran into it and continued on. "Onwards Sloth!" the Nora-Queen yelled, as she hopped onto the beasts back and the creature roared in response, eager to smash these that threatened its Queen to bits.


	4. Yep, assuredly fire

The Termagants surged forwards, behind the Ren-Lictor, following in the wake of corpses the large beast and Nora-Queen were leaving. Her synapse-range was meagre and they didn't wish to leave it.

To the large beast scaling the hill it couldn't have been more…content? It didn't recognize the feeling, but it sure felt nice. It, the outcast beast, was a chosen mount for a Nora-Queen. It felt…felt…wait! That spoor!

The large beast hissed its frustration. It could sense the familiar unnatural feel coming from the top of the hill. It hissed again, trying to warn the Nora-Queen of the danger when they appeared. Pink-hued menaces that had multiple waving hands appeared atop the hillside and with a laugh they started to rain fire(the literal kind) down upon them. The beast roared at the pinpricks and, raising its claws up to shield the Queen and charged the largest concentration, the Termagants and the Ren-Lictor hosing the remainder with spikes and web.

Reaching the top of the hill, talons coated in ichor, the beast cast its gaze around, it's one good eye straining to see through all the viscera on its face. There!

Nora heard her mount growl in the direction of the…thing. She wasn't too sure what IT was, but she knew ugly when she saw it.

The unknown was as tall as her sloth, and the wasn't accounting for the 2 flame-spewing eels circling its head. It had four arms, the top two gripping a large axe and closed book respectively and the bottom two had armor melded into them, with symbols that hurt to look at. A pair of different coloured tails, more melded armor on the chest, legs and back and a terrifying slasher smile completed the look. That, and the green and blue portal behind it, which seemed to be literally spitting out small three armed blue daemons.

With a cry of its own the massive daemon charged at the beast, axe swinging towards its bad eye, before it staggered mid-charge, pink explosions plastering its face, off-balancing it.

"GRAAAH, Not As Planned!" it screamed, before the multi-ton beast slammed into it, sending the daemon pinwheeling back, loosing it's axe in the process.

The Termagants in the meantime, had found a way to deal with the flame daemons. The Ren-Lictor had baited them to follow him and as they did they were showered in stranglewebs shots. Collapsing down, they nearly burned free before the Ren-Lictor stabbed his "talons" into them. The rest of them were hosing the ever increasing blue daemons with spikes, attempting to stop them from overwhelming them.

The massive daemon pulled itself out of a self-made crater and started growling in a language best left unspoken.

"I'll fry that other eye out Old One!" It screamed, loosing a bolt of raw warp lightning at the beast.

The beast ducked down in the nick of time, only for the bolt to slam into a small figure on its back, causing it to scream out.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh…


	5. Gah, the burns

"Ahhhhhhhh…hahahahahaha!" the figure started to laugh

The beast was as confused as the daemon was. The Nora-Queen had told it to duck, but it wouldn't have had it known about the lightning bolt. It felt the Nora-Queens psychic field rise exponentially from the blast, to levels it thought impossible. It felt her weight disappear, as she was suddenly airborne in between the two, maul back, and swinging at near-terminal velocity.

"Imma make your hide into a rug!"

WHAM! BOOM! BLAM!

Ren heard a commotion from the side and sidestepped away, as an large indeterminable mass of bruises, coated in lightning, was sent flying past him through the portal, screaming obscenities. As it went sailing through the blue daemons began to rapidly fade away.

When they did the beast and the Termagants began to shake. The swansong was calling in its earnest and they had to leave now. The little beasts left one by one, each vanishing as it touched the portal, but the larger beast was torn.

The call was so strong, but this Nora-Queen, she needed it. She was shedding biomass for it, liquid falling from her face, yet the call was insistent. The beast lapped at her face, accepting that the Hive Mind, required it elsewhere and slowly, carefully wrapped the Nora-Queen in a hug with its claws, lowly growling out "unyuu" before letting go, turning about and marching into the portal, vanishing from sight along with it.

Nora fell to the ground, tears flowing, as Ren moved to comfort her "Why Mr. Sloth?" she wailed.

"It's ok, Nora" Ren said, holding her close as a bullhead with Jaune and Pyrhaa descended nearby

"I'm sure he'll be back someday"


	6. Ashes to ashes

Tyranid ending

This was awful, thought Marneus Calgar, as he surveyed the battle unfolding in front of him. The tyranids had had a massive push in the last year, forcing the Ultramarines back to Macragge. Calgar could scarce believe that this was all due to the new Lictor and Carnifex genus. The Lictor strain was damn near impossible to detect due to near perfectly resembling a human form, and could practically warp from place to place before shredding its victims with talon and Spinefists.

The Carnifex genus though, had a small symbiotic creature on its back carapace. Not only could this symbiote launch highly explosive shots and doubled as a second pair of eyes, they also were both a psychic lightning rod and a synapse presence.

This again, would have been controllable, had the Hive Fleet Leviathan not fielded them in broods of 50. They trashed everything they ran into. Marines, Tanks, Fortifications, Titans. Me, Calgar thought, grimacing as he attempted to right himself. There was a slightly larger Carnifex that had smashed the First company Land Raider he had been in to pieces, and it was currently busy ripping Chronos's Land Raider Terminus to shreds as well.

Calgar wrestled his arm up and sent a volley of bolt shells at it but the creature barely flinched. Instead, it turned to look at him and recognition dawned in both their eyes.

"No, you should be dead" Calgar stated, as the Carnifex seemed to grin, lowered its head and charged at him.

.

.

.

 _It is the dawn of the 42nd millennia. The Imperium has fallen. Even now, ravenous hordes of Tyranids seek to sack this facility, one of our few remaining hideaways. I hope this log makes it to safer hands as a warning. We should've listened to Kryptmann. We spent so much containing the inner threat that the outer one encircled and devoured us. Once Macragge fell, that was the death knell for us. Most worlds lasted scarce a day as Tyranids rampaged across the whole galaxy. Even the traitors in the Eye got had, the lack of mortals in real space and shadow of the warp shrinking the Eyes influence to near nothing._

 _Holy Terra itself lasted a scant week, the Infinity Gate crushed under masses of Carnifex._

 _I…I don't know what to do next I…_

sound of firearm discharging recorded

End Transmission

Auto-log off enabled

Goodbye Inquisitior Lord Parchef.


	7. Dust to Dust

_My name is Cinder Fall, and I am the last REAL human left on Remnant, and if what I see in the sky is to be believed, soon to be the last living being._

 _Years ago I was the one to take in the powers of the Fall Maiden, and she who destroyed Vale. Be in doing so I unleashed a calamity unchecked to this day. Now roving hordes of purple hued humans and Faunus prowl the land, hunting for survivors. Six-limbed monsters hunt in massive decimation packs, hounding the supposedly endless Grimm to extinction._

 _All in the name of that foul Beast, Zas Nicos Arc. The one and only Four-armed Emperor, monster born of Pyrhaa and Jaune. How such a creature came to be I know not, but it became more powerful than any of us could imagine._

 _They are terrifying, all 3 of them. A year after their…"son" was born they had all their classmates implanted by him. It only spread from there. Now there are so few left who aren't marked that they can tell just by smell._

 _My EX-master Salem thought to control them. All that accomplished was her getting ripped from existence. Even the other 3 maidens tried. Now, their powers belong to me. Seems aliens are a no on the inheritance list._

 _Nora Valkyrie was implanted early on, and she's been doing nothing but singing drivel for years, calling out to a "missing friend", drivel that seemingly paid off. Now there is a fleet of true aliens on our doorstep, and behind those, countless amounts, desperate to get at the last biomass of a dying Galaxy._

 _So it shall end as it began. Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust…_

 _Cinder out._


End file.
